Description
The Basilica of Santa Maria in Provenzano is the shrine of the Madonna of Provenzano, in Siena, and its name is tied to the Palio: every July 2 the race is run in her honor. Built after the Council of Trent, it is a Mannerist church, with a large dome and a travertine facade.
The heart of the church is the image of the Madonna of Provenzano, a fifteenth-century terracotta bust. It sits high above the main altar, surrounded by a glory of silver angels, with silver statues of Saint Catherine and Saint Bernardino at its feet.
Above the altar, in the apse, you can see a red velvet hanging embroidered in gold, with the arms of Pope Alexander VII, the last of the Sienese popes. On either side are two others, donated by bishops in 1683 and 1690.
Look up at the dome too: in the pendentives are frescoed the four patron saints of Siena, Ansanus, Savinus, Victor and Crescentius. Below, the polychrome marble floor bears at its center the coats of arms of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, surrounded by those of the episcopal cities of the old Republic of Siena.
Among the paintings on the side altars is the Mass of Saint Cerbonius by Rutilio Manetti, on the first altar on the right. In the nave two flags are also displayed: one was taken from the Turks by the Sienese knight Paolo Amerighi at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.
It all began in 1552. A Spanish arquebusier, perhaps as a show of bravado, fired at a terracotta Madonna set into the wall of a house in the district. The arms shattered, but the bust stayed intact. Popular tradition held that the image had been placed there by Saint Catherine of Siena.
People began to venerate it to make amends for the insult, then for the miracles attributed to it, recognized in 1594, the "year of miracles." With the approval of Pope Clement VIII and the city's magistrates, it was decided to build a shrine for it: the foundations were laid on October 24, 1595.
The project was entrusted by Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici to Damiano Schifardini, a monk of the charterhouse of Florence, but the works were overseen by Flaminio Del Turco. The church opened in 1611, and on October 23 the Madonna entered the new shrine in a procession through every street of the city.
Since 1656 the Madonna of Provenzano has always appeared on the palio banner that the contrade compete for. On July 1 the banner is carried here in procession, and on the evening of the Palio the winning contrada comes to give thanks by singing its Te Deum.
The heart of the church is the image of the Madonna of Provenzano, a fifteenth-century terracotta bust. It sits high above the main altar, surrounded by a glory of silver angels, with silver statues of Saint Catherine and Saint Bernardino at its feet.
Above the altar, in the apse, you can see a red velvet hanging embroidered in gold, with the arms of Pope Alexander VII, the last of the Sienese popes. On either side are two others, donated by bishops in 1683 and 1690.
Look up at the dome too: in the pendentives are frescoed the four patron saints of Siena, Ansanus, Savinus, Victor and Crescentius. Below, the polychrome marble floor bears at its center the coats of arms of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, surrounded by those of the episcopal cities of the old Republic of Siena.
Among the paintings on the side altars is the Mass of Saint Cerbonius by Rutilio Manetti, on the first altar on the right. In the nave two flags are also displayed: one was taken from the Turks by the Sienese knight Paolo Amerighi at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.
It all began in 1552. A Spanish arquebusier, perhaps as a show of bravado, fired at a terracotta Madonna set into the wall of a house in the district. The arms shattered, but the bust stayed intact. Popular tradition held that the image had been placed there by Saint Catherine of Siena.
People began to venerate it to make amends for the insult, then for the miracles attributed to it, recognized in 1594, the "year of miracles." With the approval of Pope Clement VIII and the city's magistrates, it was decided to build a shrine for it: the foundations were laid on October 24, 1595.
The project was entrusted by Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici to Damiano Schifardini, a monk of the charterhouse of Florence, but the works were overseen by Flaminio Del Turco. The church opened in 1611, and on October 23 the Madonna entered the new shrine in a procession through every street of the city.
Since 1656 the Madonna of Provenzano has always appeared on the palio banner that the contrade compete for. On July 1 the banner is carried here in procession, and on the evening of the Palio the winning contrada comes to give thanks by singing its Te Deum.